Lucas Stand is a Satanic Time Travel Story By the Creator of Sons of Anarchy

Kurt Sutter's TV show about the brutal Californian biker club, the Sons of Anarchy, gained a following unparalleled by most televised fiction currently on air. His character driven, tragic narrative has become an instant classic, and many fans are dying to see his next project, which he has confirmed is a SOA spinoff about the club's allies/rivals, the Mayans. What most don't know is that Sutter is also working on a brand new comic series, the first issue of which was just released: Lucas Stand.

Lucas Stand is a vet from the war in Afghanistan, and like a lot of modern vets, has developed drug and alcohol problems to go on top of his PTSD. The first issue reveals that after he causes a car accident that results in the death of a family due to his inebriation, he decides to commit suicide. It comes as a shock to Lucas when he wakes up in a puddle of his own blood and with a drill sergeant standing over him, promising him one final chance. This last chance ends up with Stand traveling back in time to Nazi Germany in 1945, where he gets himself into a little bit of trouble. It's also revealed that his goal seems to be hunting down demons. He's still confused about what all of it means when he has a conversation with the drill sergeant who appeared when he first shot himself, who, at the end of the issue, transforms into a demon himself - adding a whole other layer of intrigue to the story.

The whole first issue seems to be the creative team's way of showcasing what the reader can expect from this series: lots of in-depth characterization, an emphasis on antiheroics, and possibly some social commentary on the current state of most U.S. vets. Also, the time travel aspect could lead to some really crazy possibilities (demon hunting in the future, perhaps?), and the questions the reader is left with at the end of the issue are certainly the type that's going to get them coming back for more in issue #2.

Sutter has proven to be a more than capable storyteller, and with the way Lucas Stand is starting out, one has to wonder if this could serve as the source material for a future TV or movie adaptation. The ideas being utilized are crazy good, and it still has that terribly tragic feel to it that SOA had, despite its more fantastical elements. The first issue was more than a decent start, and it's going to be exciting to see what Sutter has in store when the second issue hits shelves next month.